A pair of handwritten notes Albert Einstein gave to a courier in Tokyo in 1922 is set to auction at Winner’s in Jerusalem.
Einstein was staying at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo when he got the news he was to receive a Nobel Prize in physics for his quantum description of light.
Einstein gave two handwritten notes to the courier as a tip
He was already a well known figure in the world of science, but recognised that the award would push him into household name territory.
On receiving a package from a courier, he realised he had no money for a tip.
Thinking on his feet, he wrote out two notes and handed them over, suggesting the courier hang on to them for a few years before selling them.
It seems the courier took Einstein at his word. The notes have passed down in his family ever since.
One of the texts, translated from the original German, reads: “A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness”.
The other reads: “Where there's a will there's a way”.
Each is signed and dated at the bottom. They’re offered with estimates of $5,000-8,000 and $4,000-6,000, respectively and will cross the block in an auction of Judaica on October 24.
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